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Journal > Volumes > 48 (2017) / 3 (Autumn)
Finding Margaret (Pole) in Shakespeare’s Richard III
Jennifer Higginbotham
Ohio State University

Although the two princes may be the most well-known children in Richard III, Clarence’s son and daughter surface at key moments in Shakespeare’s script. Clarence’s daughter, the historical Margaret Plantagenet, would go on to become the Margaret Pole executed by Henry VIII, and she offers an intriguing instance of a young female child on the early modern stage. By reading the girl Margaret as the future successor to the adult, I argue that Clarence’s daughter haunts Shakespeare’s play as the memory of past (and forthcoming) wrongs under the Tudor dynasty. As the last of her royal line, she carries the burden of taking over for the Old Queen and learning to curse in the future.

Pages: 615 - 635